The Mojave Candy Shoppe Incident
by VaultGirl
Summary: Comedic/slightly flirty one-shot. - Female Courier talks Boone into playing "Mojave Hi-hi" at an abandoned candy shop.


_Fallout: New Vegas and its content are the property of Bethesda._

_Author's Notes: This is supposed to be a flirty/comedic situation between female courier and Boone with the intention of being more playful and not so serious. Please excuse any grammar/spelling errors. Hope you enjoy_!

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><p><strong>The Mojave Candy Shoppe Incident<strong>

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><p>The courier and the sniper entered the abandoned shop. Their clothes were covered with dirt and sweat - not totally unexpected for daily travelers of the Mojave Wasteland and it's unforgiving heat. The small vacated store they found had seen better days - shelves that once held merchandise were mostly broken and lying on the floor, empty display cases with smashed glass, a Sunset Sarsaparilla vending machine lying on it's side at the back of the room. The shop, even in it's present state of disarray, was welcomed relief from the heat of the harsh desert day. And they both knew even in this condition, these types of places usually contained a few useful items - if someone hadn't managed to get there and loot everything first.<p>

The two quietly surveyed the store for any danger that might be hiding, listening for any trouble. After a few moments, the sniper took a step forward. The courier immediately raised her hand, motioning for him stop. He looks at her to see what was wrong - he did not sense anything hostile. She looks around the room again with a very serious look on her face for a few moments, drops her hand, and says, "Gumdrops."

He looks at her with a surprised look. "What?"

She nods her head and repeats, "I call gumdrops."

Both are standing more at ease now. He sighs, "Ok, if I find any, I'll let you know."

She shakes her head and says, "Oh no no. You know, Mojave Hi-hi?" He gives her a blank look, so she starts explaining further. "You have to guess what item we're going to find the most of in here. Winner gets caps kind of thing."

He looks away annoyed. She frowns and says, "Awwwhhhh, come on! Just play this one time, please? You have to have a little fun every once in a while you know. It's ok to LIVE a little, Boone."

He starts walking down one of the aisles and says, "Caravan is fun. Your made up game is not."

The courier mockingly says, "I resent your accusation that the prestigious and universally known game of Mojave Hi-hi is something I just merely 'made up.' It has been a source of enjoyment for many generations of Mojave Hi-hi players. Besides, it's fun if you win."

He looks irritated, knowing she won't drop it. He relents and says, "Fine. I call...beer."

The courier starts laughing. "Boone - you realize this is an old candy shoppe, right? I mean if you want to stick with beer, that's fine...but..." He ignores her again and continues making his way through the store. "Ok, beer it is," she says with a smirk. She walks down the opposite side of the store, scouring the shelves for anything useful and especially for gumdrops. After they check out the different aisles, they finally return to the store entrance. She has five boxes of gumdrops in her hand. He has... nothing. She looks at him and smiles, "Looks like I win."

He asks, "How many caps do I owe you?"

"Well, we didn't bet caps so by default the loser has to grant the winner one wish. Do whatever one task the winner says do."

Boone's mouth drops open in disbelief. "Wait...what? But you said winner gets caps!"

The courier, now looking very serious, says, "Yeah, but we didn't call caps. If we don't say what we're betting for, by default the winner gets a wish." Boone looks annoyed as the courier shrugs her shoulders and says, "Hey, I don't make the rules...I just play the game." Boone rubs his forehead, and says "Fine...what do I have to do."

The courier looks at Boone with a devilish grin and says, "You have to wear Legion veteran armor the rest of the way back to the Lucky 38."

Boone says very sternly, "Ok, I'm done playing."

The courier crosses her arms and pouts, "Oh come on! You *know* the Legion is leading the world in the latest man-dress fashion!" She looks him up and down before saying, "Besides, you know you have the legs for it..." Boone frowns and stares at her. She stares back for a few moments before relenting, "Alright, alright - you're giving me that 'I'm going to shoot you' look, so you don't have to wear Legion clothing. And I suppose you'll want to keep the beret on too. Fine. " She thinks for a second and says, "Sexy sleepwear?"

He shakes his head and exhales, "You really are trying to get me killed, aren't you?" She smiles and says, "Ok, I know the pj's don't offer a lot of protection compared to your current armor, but I have a good feeling we won't run into any trouble before we get back."

He frowns as he says, "Last time you had a 'good feeling' about something, we ended up outnumbered in a firefight. I was shot and went unconscious, and you ran away to hide."

Courier scowls as she rummages through her bag, "Hey! I didn't run and hide - I was strategically retreating so I could plan my next move. We made it out ok in the end, didn't we?" She pulls out the pajamas and throws them to Boone. He curses under his breath as he walks over to the check out area to change. He quickly glances down in the standing display case by the register as he walks by, then stops. He looks back in the small tub shaped case for a few moments, then looks back at the courier and smirks. She furrows her brow and says, "What?"

"Think you might want to take a look at this." The courier jumps up and runs over to the case. She looks inside and in her disbelief...there are ten bottles of beer laying inside. She exclaims, "What type of damn candy store sells beer?"

"Welcome to New Vegas," Boone says as he throws her back the pajamas. "Guess you have some changing to do. Besides, you know you have the legs for it." The courier gives him a dirty look, then shakes her head as she curses under her breath.

**...two hours later...**

The courier steps through the entrance gates of the Strip. She's wearing sexy sleepwear, a 1st Recon beret, combat boots, and the sad frown of lost bets. Boone walks in after her, and they both head up the steps to the Lucky 38. A few drunken NCR officers dancing with the prostitutes in front of the Gomorrah start cat calling her. She turns toward them and curses. The drunken NCR soldiers start laughing at her. "Universe, I suppose I had this coming," she says aloud. Boone walks in front of her, holds out his hand and says, "Here, take this. Might cheer you up." She reaches out and he drops a small box in her hand. It's a box of gumdrops.

"Wait...where did you get these," she asks.

He responds, "I found them back at the candy shoppe."

"How many did you find?"

"Six boxes."

The courier's mouth hits the ground. "That makes eleven boxes of gumdrops to your ten bottles of beer. You...you cheated! *I* won Mojave Hi-hi!"

"I didn't cheat. You said you won before asking me how many I found so they don't count. I've played Mojave Hi-hi before... "

The courier starts to argue, but stops. He knows she made up the rule about the wish. A few moments pass before she scowls, "I can't believe I just got played at my own game." They walk inside the Lucky 38 and enter the elevator to go to the presidential suite. She turns to him and presses her body up onto his, leans in like she is going to kiss him but stops a few inches from his face. She looks deep into his mirrored shades and says "I just wanted you to know that I really, really hate you today." Boone smirks, "Don't hate the player, hate the game." She gives him a dirty look for a few seconds before saying, "I just tracked across the desert wearing boots and a negligee. It's pretty much open season on hate today." He smiles, "If it will help... you can have the rest of the gumdrops." She gives him a stunned look before she starts laughing. "Thanks but no thanks. I think I'm done with gumdrops and Mojave Hi-hi for a long, long time."


End file.
